Father's Son
by cartoondork
Summary: An incredibly overly-dramatic-and-aware-of-it story that takes place before, during, and after the film. Angela Sullivan is seventeen years old, goes to Ridgeway High, and acts at the local theatre. And when she meets Neil Perry, both of their lives will change in ways she couldn't imagine, even long after he's gone. Rated M for adult themes in later chapters.
1. The Meeting

**Author's Note: Oh god-I can't believe I'm publishing an original character fic for Dead Poets Society, but here it is... Don't worry (or actually, DO worry), there's a LOT more to come after this chapter-I already have it written. Er... I appreciate feedback! Thanks for reading, guys.**

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**Chapter One**

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It was the summertime when he first met her. He had managed to get away from Hellton for the weekend and catch a play at Henley Hall. He had told his parents he wouldn't come home because he was too busy studying—and, in a way, it was true. He was planning on studying the actors, planning on taking mental notes for himself. It was something Neil had recently gotten into and right now it was only a small seed planted in his brain, waiting to grow. It was a lovely, warm but breezy evening and Neil could feel a surge of excitement go through his entire frail body as he opened the door and entered the box office. He loved how it felt to be inside of a theatre, to be with everyone before a show. He wished he knew what it would be like to be anticipating the same thing backstage. He walked up to the box office window with money in-hand and began to speak, but he froze at the sight of her.

She had long, curly auburn hair and hazel eyes that were accented with the thickest eyelashes he had ever seen. Her pink lips were curled up into a shy smile and Neil soon noticed that they had been making eye contact the whole time.

"Can I help you?" she finally asked, breaking their gaze. Neil snapped out of it, or tried to, anyway, and replied:

"Uh—yes, I'd like one ticket, please." She took his money, handed him his ticket and told him "enjoy the show" before taking the next customer. As he walked away he couldn't help but turn around to catch one last glance. Because he was stuck with boys every single day of his life, Neil found himself gazing at almost every girl his own age, no matter what they looked like. But this one was a little different, somehow. Maybe it was the rush that being in a theatre gave him, but he felt like if he didn't talk to her again, he might explode.

Neil found himself zoning out during the whole play—though it was a very good one. He kept thinking back to the girl working behind the box office. He wondered what her name could be. Neil often liked to look at strangers and assign them names based on what they looked like, but for some reason, nothing seemed to fit this beauty he had found. Phyllis? Suzanne? Anna? None of them sounded right, none of them were good enough for such a young woman. He imagined her sitting next to him just then, and he wondered what might happen if he were to put his hand on top of hers.

Neil had never been on a real date, of course. He was always too busy with school—he practically lived to do homework and study. That was all he did. Like a machine. He was wasting his entire summer in school, as a matter of fact. And it's very hard to find good dates when the only people around you are teenage boys. Before he could even think of a proper name for the Box Office Girl, it was intermission. He jumped up from his seat to rush to the lobby—maybe he could catch a glimpse of her. He hoped with all of his heart that she would be there. Neil looked around at all the faces—everyone was older, married—some brought their children. Where was his Box Office Girl? He spent the entire ten minutes waiting for her to make an appearance, but it was a no-show. Dejected, he returned to his seat to watch the rest of the play.

When it was over, Neil made his way to the lobby again to exit. He stood around for a minute, hoping that if he took his sweet time, she would magically appear before him. But she was nowhere to be seen. He finally realized he had to leave, so he went out the front doors into the night.

Neil made his way back to school, feeling disappointed, when suddenly, he caught a glimpse of someone. He ran towards the figure. "Hey!" he shouted. "Hey…" She stopped and turned around. He never knew he could be so absolutely enthralled to see someone's face.

"Hey—hi… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he apologized.

The girl grinned shyly. "It's all right." She was quite a deal shorter than he was, very petite and small, but with a girlish figure. Neil didn't know much about womens' fashion, but he could definitely tell that this was a girl who could dress herself. She had on what must've been the most flattering clothes on the face of the earth, and a pair of heels that made her legs look long and graceful. Her hair fell over her shoulders and her eyes glistened in the moonlight. How cliche of him to think… but it was true. He had never seen someone's eyes glisten before.

"I—I just wanted to introduce myself to you." He put a hand forward. "I'm Neil Perry."

The girl took his hand. "I'm Angela Sullivan," she responded.

He smiled at that. Angela… he was so glad to know her name.

"So—do—do you like theatre? Acting and stuff?"

She nodded. "I'm an actress," Angela replied. "Well—kind of. I do plays here—in addition to taking tickets."

He was in absolute awe. "Wow… that's… amazing."

She laughed at this.

"What?" Neil playfully asked.

"Nothing, it's just… not that amazing. I love it, but, you know. It's not Broadway."

"I'd kill to be up onstage at a place like this," he admitted.

Angela cocked her head. "Why don't you audition sometime? We could always use more boys—we have several new shows coming up!"

Neil laughed a single "ha", and looked at the ground. "Yeah, my father would never let me do that."

"Oh," was her response. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, anyway…" He brought his focus back to her face. "Do—where do you go to school?"

"I go to Ridgeway." She smiled at him—God, her smile sent his heart into conniptions. "Where do you go? I haven't seen you before… do you live around here?"

"Oh, I go to Welton. Or, as we like to call it—Hellton." That made her giggle.

"Ohhh, fancy," Angela joked. "So you must be too busy for acting anyway, huh?"

"I guess. I'm doing summer session right now, actually."

"Oh, wow. That's too much school for me."

"Me too." They shared another laugh before their eyes met again.

"Um… do you have a phone at Welton?"

His heart stopped. "Y—yeah! Yeah, there's… we have telephones."

"Can I… give you my number? You can call me sometime, if you want. You know… stay in touch."

Neil blinked. Was this it? Had he finally discovered what it was like to be a normal guy? A normal guy who went to school and met… girls?

"I—oh, uh—yeah! Yeah, that'd… that'd be great."

She laughed and reached into her handbag for a notepad and a pen. She scribbled down some numbers while using the side of the theatre building as a sideways desk and ripped off the paper hastily and gave it to him.

"You—you can call me any time, I guess." Angela laughed. "During the week I'm almost always home after school ends."

Neil stared at the phone number on the notebook paper.

"Oh—yeah! Sounds great. I'll—I'll do that, I'll… call you…" She smiled at him, that beautiful smile.

"Great. I have to go now, but I look forward to hearing from you, Neil."

"Uh, you too! Angela." That made her smile again and she waved at him through her fingers before she disappeared into her parked car. She left Neil there, bursting at the seams with excitement. Was this really happening? Had his first encounter with the Outside World really ended up in getting a girl's phone number? A girl who loved acting? His mind reeled with possibilities the entire walk back to Welton and followed him until he fell asleep.


	2. The Phone Call

**xxx**

** Chapter Two **

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**PHONE CALL #1**

"Hello?"

"Uh-yes, is... is Angela there?" He actually couldn't tell if the voice on the other end was Angela or someone else, but he didn't want to make a fool out of himself by acting like it was her.

"I'll get her for you."

He heard some talking in the background, some rustling about. His heart was pounding. And then she was on the line:

"Hello?"

"Hi! Hi, it's me, um, Neil? You gave me your phone number, so I-I thought I'd call."

She laughed. "I remember who you are, Neil. How are you?"

"Um, I-good. I'm good! And-and yourself?"

"Not so great. I have a ton of Algebra homework to do. I hate math."

"Yeah, I'm not so big on numbers either."

"Let me guess... you prefer English too?"

"Yeah. I mean, studying anything here is pretty dull but it's more interesting to me than Trigonometry."

"You have Trigonometry?! Just saying that makes me want to die."

"It's not so bad. I mean, I'm in the mathematics club here... but-that doesn't mean I like it."

"Well, Mr. Neil Perry," she giggled-she remembered his last name after one meeting!-"what else do you do besides go to Welton and see plays on the weekends?"

He exhaled. "Not much, honestly. I'd like to act but... my dad says no. No, instead, I'm destined to be a doctor."

"Wow-that's a lot different than acting."

"Yeah... I know. But what he says goes, so-hah. Um... what do you do?"

"Act, obviously. I love doing plays. I like to sing, too. I like to listen to music and write and look for dresses that I could never afford."

"That's a lot of things."

"Not really!" She laughed. "Do you have friends, Neil? Or is your life just one constant stream of studying and taking classes?"

He laughed at this. "I do have friends, as a matter of fact. But, uh, they're not taking summer session with me, so right now I'm focused on my studies."

"Fun."

"Yeah. Torture."

"..."

"..."

"Do you have time for... for dating, as an example?" she asked.

"Uh-uh-er... well-hah-I've never really thought about that. I-I'm... not sure."

"So is that a... no?"

"No! No, no, it's-yes. I'd... yes! I mean, I'd love to, but... but I don't have any money, or anything-I mean, I'm not allowed to... do much, I don't know where we'd go."

"You don't have to spend any money on me, Neil. We can just go somewhere and... have fun... talk. If you'd like to."

"... Sure-sure-what the hell-let's do it."

"G-great! Great... next... next Saturday, then? Is that all right?"

"Yeah! Yeah. That's just fine."

"Do you want me to pick you up at Welton?"

Neil felt incredibly silly that a girl was asking to pick him up for a date, but he realized he didn't really have any other choice. "Uh, yeah, I-I guess that's the only option, isn't it?"

Angela laughed. "I'll pick you up at six?"

"Uh, yeah! Yeah, sure."

"Do you guys have some kind of curfew over there?"

"Don't worry about it, it'll be a weekend anyway."

Angela grinned. "Okay, Neil. I guess I'll see you then."

"Great!" Neil couldn't stop the huge grin on his face.

"Great!" she echoed.

"Um... goodbye?" he tried, which made her laugh.

"Goodbye!"

Neil hung up the phone and exhaled deeply. He had a _date!_ Neil Perry had a _date!_ He could hardly believe any of this was actually happening to him. All that he did know was that Saturday couldn't possibly come any sooner.


	3. The Date

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**Chapter Three**

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The week came and went, but it didn't feel much like it. Classes were exceptionally boring that week and Neil was both incredibly nervous and excited for his... date? Was it really a date? It sure sounded like one, but he didn't want to jump to conclusions. Neil had zero experience with girls, having grown up in private boys' schools his entire life. His parents-namely, Mr. Perry-didn't want him to be "distracted" by the "opposite sex", instead wanting him to focus on his studies, which he did. Neil studied and studied and barely did anything else other than dream about being in a play-just one play was all he asked for. He knew his dad would kill him if he found out he went on a date with a girl, but what were the odds of him finding out about this? He sneaked away to do things with his friends during the school year all the time. What was one more?

He wore his best sweater and combed through his hair until he felt like he couldn't possibly look any better. Angela was due to pick him up at any moment now, and Neil had once again told his parents that he was staying at Welton for the weekend to study for some "big tests". There were always big tests, it seemed, so it technically wasn't a lie. But he was ahead in all of his classes already. He deserved another break.

Neil made his way outside of the school to wait for Angela. Luckily, students were able to sneak around more easily on the weekends during summer school. For some reason, summer meant security measures weren't taken very seriously. Still, he got a rush of adrenaline from sneaking around when he wasn't supposed to.

It also reminded him of the actual school year, when he and his friends would do things they weren't supposed to do. Finally, there he saw Angela pulling up in what he assumed was her car-or maybe her parents'? He wasn't sure of the Sullivans' financial situation. But anyway, Neil found himself smiling (probably looking like a complete doofus) as he swiftly walked towards where she had parked and moving himself to the passenger seat. He was relieved to see her smiling just as intensely, though somehow it didn't make her look like a doofus. It just made her look beautiful. Somehow that made it worse.

"Hi," she started.

"Hello." The two laughed awkwardly. "Um, I'm sorry I don't have my drivers' license, I-"

"Shh," Angela interrupted. "Don't apologize, good lord. Besides, I like driving. It's fun."

Neil grinned. "So... where are we going?" he decided to ask.

"I was thinking... you know the soda shop on Anderson?"

He shrugged, because no, he didn't know the soda shop on Anderson. Angela laughed. "Wow, they really shelter you in there, don't they?"

"You have no idea," Neil quipped back, but they both knew he was serious.

Angela drove in silence for a while. Neil kept glancing over. He noticed that she kept chewing her lips as if she were nervous. It made him feel better about his own feelings.

"So, what kinds of plays have you been in?" Neil asked.

"I've been in a lot of plays _and_ musicals," Angela explained. "I was Wendy in Peter Pan, actually-and I was Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing. Those are my two favorites. Do you have any Broadway records?"

He shook his head.

"Oh, well I think my favorite is Oklahoma! Do you know that one?"

"I've heard of it." Neil was suddenly embarrassed. She had this endless stream of knowledge and what he assumed was talent in this thing he could only dream about.

"Well I love that show. I want to be in it someday. Maybe if Ridgeway Players do it you can audition with me." She flashed a grin over at him.

"I'm not sure if I can sing," Neil explained. "I mean, I just got into acting recently and all..."

"That's okay. Sorry, I'm just excited to find someone as excited about this stuff as I am." She drove.

xxx

"Are you going to finish your fries?"

Neil laughed.

"Are you hungry or something?"

"How can you tell?" She had already finished her serving and half of a chocolate malt. However, Neil was a teenage boy, so he was already the eating winner by default.

The two were off to a fantastic start, spending the whole evening laughing and talking. And somehow, the initial nervousness had worn off as they spent more time doing all of this laughing and talking. Angela thought Neil was not only the cutest boy she had ever seen, but probably the most genuinely polite and sweet, certainly not like those boys at Ridgeway. And he shared her interests as well. And he was the kind of guy who could laugh with her. He thought she was funny-and in a good way!

"So, I do have to ask-why don't you just audition for a play already?" she finally asked.

Neil let out a huge sigh. "It's my father." She nodded-he had mentioned that previously. "I wanted to audition for summer stock auditions last year but... he said no. And I've asked about it a few other times, and... always the same. He thinks it's a waste of time, and-maybe he's right."

Angela frowned at this. "But you still want to, right?"

Neil nodded. "Yeah... well. I guess it would interfere with my schoolwork. After all, I just have to be a doctor, you know."

Angela stopped sipping her milkshake. "You don't seem like the kind of person who'd want to go into medicine," she replied.

Neil laughed.

"I'm not."

xxx

Soon, it was 9 o'clock and Neil had to be back at Welton. The two sat in Angela's car, just a block away from the building, as not to get caught stalling.

"Um... I had fun tonight," Neil tried with a grin, which in turn made Angela smile.

"I did too," she replied.

Neil didn't know much about dating, but he did know that normally, at the end of a good date, the couple is supposed to kiss. His stomach was twisting in knots at this idea. And he didn't know it, but Angela's was too.

"So... hah-do you want to go out again sometime?"

Angela's grin became even wider. "I would love to, Neil!"

Without even thinking, he leaned forward, across his seat, and planted his lips to hers. He had no idea how to kiss, and neither did Angela, really. But they somehow managed to make it right. It was short, about three seconds tops, because neither one of them knew how long to make it last. But three seconds was enough. When they pulled away, both of them took a moment to stare at one another before bursting into awkward laughter.

"Wow," Neil joked, "first kiss."

"Believe it or not, mine too," Angela replied. That comforted him somehow.

Angela pulled her car in front of Welton Academy.

"So, you'll call me, then? Promise?"

Neil nodded. "I promise I will call you."

She smiled. "I'll be waiting." With that, Neil opened the door and stepped out. They waved at one another and Neil couldn't help but watch as her car pulled further and further away until it was gone. And then, it hit him: He had kissed a _girl_! Neil had finally kissed a girl. Well, now he had something to brag to the boys about when September hit.

xxx

**(A/N: I basically wrote this whole chapter in a rush all in one night because I wanted to get it over with. :x I'm sorry for the insane filler and general boringness but it had to be done eventually, lol. Thanks for reading nonetheless!)**


	4. First Day of School

**(Author's Note: Holy shit, I have fans of this story other than my friends who I forced to leave reviews? You guys are way too kind. I apologize for the delay in this chapter but I'm still at the whole exposition part of things which bores me terribly. The good stuff is coming up next though, I promise you! Thank you so much for reading!)**

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**Chapter Four**

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Before September rolled around, Neil and Angela had been on several more dates, each better than the last. They had also learned a lot about each other. For example, Angela learned that Neil wasn't really as shy as she previously thought, and Neil learned that Angela had a sailor mouth.

It wasn't just when she was angry or for emphasis, but yet it wasn't like every other word that came through her lips was a four-letter-word. Neil just had in his head that proper young ladies never cursed. Of course, proper young boys didn't curse either, but Neil knew that was nearly impossible. It wasn't like he was necessarily an angel either, it just seemed so alien for the word "shit" to come out of the mouth of such a beautiful young woman.

She was funny, too, in a strange way. Neil felt like he could tell Angela anything, and she did the same in return. Maybe it was because they were one another's First Everything, but the amount of trust the two shared was almost frightening to them. Neil felt as though Angela understood everything about him. She understood his desire, no, his need, to act and to perform, because Angela shared the same exact need.

**xxx**

"Gentlemen," Neil began with a smirk. "I have an announcement to make." It was the first day back at Welton and all of his friends had gathered into his room. Charlie was already stretched out on a bed with a cigarette and Neil's new roommate was awkwardly attempting to blend into the wallpaper.

"Well? Out with it," Charlie unenthusiastically responded, taking a drag of his cigarette.

Neil's smirk widened. "Yours truly," he began, gesturing to himself, "has a girlfriend."

"No shit?" Knox asked, half-amused.

"No, no shit. I met her over the summer. She does plays," Neil added with a grin, as if it were the greatest thing a person could do.

"All right, Neil," Charlie congratulated, while taking another drag of the cigarette. "So when do we get to meet her? Is she real?" he teased. "What's her name?"

"She is real, Charlie, and her name is Angela. _Angela_... don't you just love it?"

**xxx**

Angela sat with her friends during lunch period. It was the first day back at Ridgeway and she was bursting at the seams to tell her friends all about Neil Perry. She could barely focus on anything else, as a matter of fact, especially not Suzanne's droll story about her summer spent reading on the beach. As soon as she was finished (which was not soon enough), Angela finally blabbed:

"So... guess what happened to me this summer."

"Nothing?" Beatrice asked, sarcastically, followed by a high-pitched giggle from Suzanne.

"No," Angela shot back. "I got a boyfriend."

"No you did _not_!" Elaine replied.

"I did. Cross my heart. I met him at the theatre."

"What's his name?" Suzanne asked.

"Neil. Neil Perry." Just saying his name made a smile creep onto her face. But she could tell from the look on her face that Beatrice was skeptical.

"So, where exactly does this 'Neil Perry' go to school?" she asked. "Will we get to meet him, or is he just a figment of your imagination?"

"He's real, Bea, and he goes to Welton." That was followed by a chorus of "oooh"'s from the lunch table.

"Ooh, a Welton boy," Suzanne giggled. "Is his family rich? He's probably going to Harvard!"

"Shut up, Suzanne!" Elaine replied, with a playful smack. "Not everyone who goes to Welton is a millionaire. ...He's not a millionaire, is he, Angela?"

She just rolled her eyes in response. "I can't believe I even told you about this..."

"No, no, it's great Angela!" Suzanne exclaimed. "You've never had a boyfriend before! This is so exciting!"

It was true. Angela had always felt so embarrassed by the fact that she was the only one out of her friends who had never so much as held hands with a boy. Mostly because she was afraid. Boys asked her out, she would talk to them, but she never liked one well enough to go on a date with. Now that she was with Neil, though, it was almost like he was too special to show off to her friends, or anyone else. He was hers, and she was his-it was special... and she didn't want her worlds to collide just yet.

"So, when do we get to meet him?" Beatrice asked.

"I don't know," Angela admitted. "I mean, I don't know what breaks are like at Welton, and I can only call him during certain hours of the day. I promise you'll get to, though. I promise he's real."

"If you say so."

The rest of the day went on as though Angela had never even mentioned him.


	5. The Phone Call 2

**xxx **

**Chapter Five **

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**PHONE CALL #2**

Neil called Angela that evening after dinner.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Angela."

She grinned at the sound of his voice. "Hi, Neil. How was your first day back at school?"

"It was okay. Boring, mostly. We have a pretty neat English teacher this year, though."

"Oh, neat!"

"Yeah."

"So... why did you call me?"

"Oh, well, hah-I kind of just wanted to hear your voice." _That_ made her heart leap. "And also tell you that I don't think my friends really believe you exist."

She laughed. "Mine don't think you exist either."

"Oh great!" he laughed. "So we're on the same page here."

"I think this means we have to introduce each other to our friends, as embarrassing as that whole ordeal sounds."

"Well I'd gladly introduce you to the boys. They'll love you, Angela. Really. We don't see too many girls around here, you know."

"Okay, so... when?"

"Um... do you want to drive up here on Saturday?"

Angela smiled. She'd get to see him at the end of the week! "Yes! Yeah, I-that sounds fine with me."

"Great. Listen, ah-someone else needs the phone, but I'll call you later this week about visiting information and stuff like that, okay?"

"Okay."

"Okay-good night."

"Good night."


	6. The Gazebo

**xxx**

**Chapter Six**

**xxx**

Charlie had concocted a rather brilliant plan for Angela to sneak into the boys' dorms after hours. He apparently had some experience sneaking people in, but when Neil asked about it, Charlie just said "There are a lot of things about me you don't know," with that playful smirk of his. It was so difficult to tell when he was being serious and when he was joking, and Charlie liked it that way. For some reason, Neil kind of did too.

Saturday evening finally came after what seemed like decades to Angela, who parked a little bit away from Welton Academy, so she would not be easily found. She looked at her watch-9:58. Almost time. She had snuck out of the house herself. Not that her parents were opposed to her seeing Neil-but seeing him so late... and after hours, in such a seedy situation... It was best to just sneak away. When the minute hand passed once more, she made her way toward the building as quietly as she could, with a flashlight in one hand and her purse in the other.

Being outside so late in such a rural area made Angela incredibly nervous. Every rustle in the trees made her heart pound faster and faster. She was walking as quickly as her feet could take her without bursting into a sprint, hoping and praying that some horrifying predator wouldn't jump out of the trees and slash her in half, or worse. Finally, Welton was in sight. She shone a flashlight into the third floor window, second to the left on the right side of the building. She got three flashes in return, which was her cue to go to the main entrance. There, she waited for approximately sixty seconds before the door slowly creaked open and there stood a tall, imposing figure. She nearly screamed at the sight of this shadowy, intimidating stranger. Shit, she should have been quieter! Now they all were going to get into trouble, and it was all her fault. Her heart pounded and her knees went weak-this was it. This was the end. Neil would be kicked out of Welton and it was going to be her fault, the little harlot.

"You must be Angela," the figure whispered with a grin in his voice. A gasp got caught in Angela's throat as she realized that maybe the plan had worked after all.

"Quiet, Dalton!" a whisper came from inside. There were several more figures making their way toward the front door now, and Angela noticed what must have been a guard dog chewing on something in the corner. That's when she realized that these were Neil's friends coming to greet her. Clever plan, she had to admit. Angela was relieved when Neil finally came into view, sneaking around the other figures to meet her.

"Come on," he whispered, and soon she found herself being led hand-in-hand across the lush campus of Welton. Angela realized that nearly every boy had also brought a flashlight, but she still couldn't make out any of their faces. Finally, they ended up at a small gazebo where she and Neil's friends finally sat down. Angela made it a point to begin to study each face across the circle. "Okay, well," Neil started with a smile, "this... is Angela." She waved at them awkwardly. The first boy leaned forward to shake her hand.

"Knox Overstreet," he said with a smile. Angela smiled back. She thought he looked like the kind of boy who could have been at Ridgeway.

"Nice to meet you," she replied. The next one had glasses and a firm handshake.

"Steven Meeks," he stated.

The next one introduced himself as Gerard Pitts, then Richard Cameron, Todd Anderson ("My roommate," Neil had said when it was his turn), and finally Charles Dalton (who had a suave look about him when introducing himself), who she realized had been the imposing figure at the front door.

"It's very nice to meet you all," Angela said once the almost awkward meet-and-greet ordeal was finished.

"We've heard a lot about you, Miss Angela," Charlie said tauntingly.

She laughed. "Oh, have you?" She glanced over at Neil, who shrugged in response.

"I had to tell them some things," he admitted. Angela's mind immediately went to the time she drove him up to the Lovers' Lane.

"Yeah, mainly just going on and on about how great and talented you are," Charlie added with a roll of his eyes. Angela had been told very little about Neil's friends, so she wasn't sure what to think about any of this. She had the feeling she understood Charlie's attitude, but it was still a little off-putting.

"So," Meeks started in an attempt to break the ice, "you like to act?"

She nodded. "That's how we met."

"Oh, we know," Knox interrupted jokingly.

"He's only told us the story a thousand times before," Charlie nonchalantly added, taking a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket.

"What? It's a good story," Neil replied, scooting closer to Angela, who couldn't help but giggle and shake her head. Charlie dug a cigarette out of the pack and offered it across the gazebo to Angela.

"Oh, thank you," she answered, taking it from him.

"Huh. See boys? Manners. The rest of you should think about thanking me next time you ask me for a free smoke." He offered up a match to light it, which she agreed to as well. Angela brought it to her lips and inhaled only a little. She tried to swallow down her coughs-she didn't want them to know she had never smoked before.

"All right, a gal who can handle things," Charlie said suggestively. "Nice pick, Neil."

"Hey, back off, Charlie," Neil quipped back. Now she really had to work to swallow the coughs. But Angela kept smoking anyway. She always felt as though it made people look glamorous and attractive.

The rest of the evening was a hazy blur coated in the smell of cigarettes and the sound of crickets chirping. The evenings were beginning to change from warm to chilled, and a breeze drifted by that made Angela shiver. Neil must have noticed, because he scooted in closer to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder while the boys continued their conversation. Angela found herself leaning her head into his shoulder in response. The night was exhilarating to her-she spent most of her nights at home reading or listening to records when she wasn't involved in plays. Now, here she was with her handsome boyfriend's arm around her shoulder, a cigarette in between her fingers and dare-devilish boys surrounding her, telling stories about their summer break. She was studying each and every one, finding all of Neil's friends incredibly fascinating in their own right.

Knox, she decided, was a true gentleman. Neil was too, of course-well, they all must be gentlemen to be attending Welton-but Knox seemed to stick with it even when he wasn't keeping up the uppity private school aesthetic. Cameron, she thought, was a stickler who had a very hard time telling whether or not someone was telling a joke. Angela noticed many jokes being made at his expense and she wondered if he was only invited to be with them because he was Charlie's roommate. Meeks and Pitts were both almost soft-spoken but intelligent individuals with a certain zest for life who seemed to just be happy to be with friends and enjoying the moment, and Todd... well, she really couldn't figure Todd out. He was the quietest person she had ever seen, but he definitely smiled a lot, mostly when Neil talked. Angela could understand that feeling.

Charlie was a completely different story. She couldn't tell if the way he would glance at her suggestively was a serious gesture, or just a joke. He seemed to be the jokester of the group-as well as the only one with any experience with girls. Angela figured she could ask Neil about him later.

An hour or so had eventually passed-she had lost track of the time-when the boys collectively decided they should sneak back into the dorms, lest they risk getting caught. Angela found herself feeling sad about this. For some reason, she didn't want the night to end. She could've stayed in that gazebo forever.

**xxx**

Angela made her way to her car with Neil's arm still around her. It was one of the best feelings she could imagine feeling, second probably only to the way they kissed at the end of their dates.

"You have really great friends, Neil," she told him as they trudged on slowly. "Really."

"Yeah, they're great. Honestly, I don't think I could survive here without them. At all."

"I know what you mean."

"I hope I didn't make you feel too weird, you know, being around a bunch of people you don't know."

"No, it was great. I had a lot of fun, Neil. I'd love to meet up with your friends some other time, even-if that's something you want to do."

"Maybe," Neil replied, as they continued to walk.

They approached the edge of the campus, and Neil tightened his grip on her shoulder as they came to a stop. "Hey look, um, I'll call you again this week, okay?"

"Okay, sounds great." She smiled. "Miss you until then."

That made _him_ smile. They kissed, and with Neil lingering on her lips, Angela never even thought about how scary the walk back to her car was.


End file.
